Leading from the front issuu

ROB’S PUK BUSH FILES
Over the years, working with Pat on regenerating
the bush, we discovered inadvertently that larch
makes an ideal nurse crop for native plants, blocking
the light and suppressing grass growth in summer.
Then in winter, when the trees lose their foliage
(being deciduous), it creates the ideal amount
of light for regenerating native plants. Seeds from
native plants are brought in by birds from nearby
forest remnants.
As the bush regenerated, being conservationists
at heart, Pat And Catherine sought to covenant
the property, so it would be protected in perpetuity.
Two scientists from the Department of Conservation,
Geoff Walls and John Adams came up from
Napier in 1993 and agreed the property was botanically
significant enough to covenant. Also, the fact
that it is close to the Ball’s Clearing Scenic Reserve,
was another reason they approved the proposal. It
is satisfying to know that all the hard work that has
gone into regenerating the bush on the property
has been preserved.
HUNTING, SHOOTING,
FISHING
When I was about 8 years old, Harry Maxwell,
who was manager of the Lands and Survey farm
at Puketitiri, took Pat and me hunting. We drove
along the rustic gravel road and parked beside the
Mohaka River. We crossed in the shallowest place
but the river was still deep and the current swift,
and then we made our way along the river terraces.
It was mainly open country with an abundance of
manuka scrub and a large herd of wild horses galloped
away dramatically when we appeared on
their scene. We saw a mob of pigs and Harry shot
one. Further on, we stopped beside the river and
Harry caught a trout, and then Dad shot a deer. All
in all, it was a good day in the great outdoors!
Puketitiri – the bush, the bach, the legacy 55